The Hurricane That Made It Farthest Inland Surged Almost 500 Miles Beyond the Shore

Hurricanes, by and large, are coastal events. But even though they usually only wreak havoc on islands and coastal areas before weakening as they make their way inland, some hurricanes have made it much farther than expected into the North American mainland. And Hurricane Beryl, the remnants of which made its way all the way up into Canada after making landfall in Texas, make it clear that some hurricanes just don’t want to give up.

Hurricanes derive their intensity from warm ocean water, so it comes as no surprise that once the hurricane is over land, without access to the heat and moisture from the ocean, it dissipates. Even though hurricanes don’t gain intensity over land, they can continue to bring intense rain and wind inland for a variety of reasons. Large, strong, powerful hurricanes (like Category 3 and above) carry more moisture so can travel farther inland without petering out. If the winds are already heading in the hurricane’s direction, and if there’s already plenty of moisture in the atmosphere, it can help sustain it. If the hurricane is a fast-moving one, it can work its way further inland than one that’s slower-moving before losing its intensity. And if it’s traveling over flat terrain – like in the Midwest – then its forward motion meets less resistance than if it were traveling over a mountainous area. All of these combined can result in a hurricane that can make its way hundreds of miles inland.

To determine the hurricanes that made it the farthest inland, 24/7 Tempo reviewed data on historical hurricane tracks from 1842 to 2022 from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration . Tropical cyclones – storms that reach a maximum sustained wind speed of 39 mph or higher – and hurricanes – storms that reach a maximum sustained wind speed of 74 mph or higher – were ranked based on the distance between their farthest inland points and the coast. Inland distances were measured using distance to nearest hub calculations in QGIS and historical hurricane track shapefiles from the NOAA and coastline shapefiles from the U.S. Census Bureau. Only hurricanes with official names were included.

As this list makes clear, if you live east of the Mississippi River, no matter how far from the coast, there’s still the possibility that you might one day be staring down the eye of a hurricane. It’s no surprise that some of these are up there with the most powerful hurricanes of all time .

Methodology:

To determine the hurricanes that made it the farthest inland, 24/7 Tempo reviewed data on historical hurricane tracks from 1842 to 2022 from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration . Tropical cyclones – storms that reach a maximum sustained wind speed of 39 mph or higher – and hurricanes – storms that reach a maximum sustained wind speed of 74 mph or higher – were ranked based on the distance between their farthest inland points and the coast. Inland distances were measured using distance to nearest hub calculations in QGIS and historical hurricane track shapefiles from the NOAA and coastline shapefiles from the U.S. Census Bureau . Only hurricanes with official names were included.

Here is the list of the hurricanes that made it farthest inland.

50. Hurricane Love (October 1950)

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• Farthest distance inland reached: 71.8 miles
• Farthest inland point: Hamilton County, FL

49. Hurricane Bertha (July 1996)

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• Farthest distance inland reached: 72.6 miles
• Farthest inland point: Hertford County, NC

48. Hurricane Gordon (November 1994)

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• Farthest distance inland reached: 76.0 miles
• Farthest inland point: Highlands County, FL

47. Hurricane Alma (June 1966)

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• Farthest distance inland reached: 82.4 miles
• Farthest inland point: Atkinson County, GA

46. Hurricane Hilda (October 1964)

Source: Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons

• Farthest distance inland reached: 86.3 miles
• Farthest inland point: Lanier County, GA

45. Hurricane Hermine (September 2016)

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• Farthest distance inland reached: 89.2 miles
• Farthest inland point: Berrien County, GA

44. Hurricane Hazel (October 1954)

Source: Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons

• Farthest distance inland reached: 99.5 miles
• Farthest inland point: Potter County, PA

43. Hurricane Andrea (June 2013)

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• Farthest distance inland reached: 103.9 miles
• Farthest inland point: Wilson County, NC

42. Hurricane Cindy (July 1959)

Source: Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons

• Farthest distance inland reached: 106.4 miles
• Farthest inland point: Halifax County, NC

41. Hurricane Donna (September 1960)

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• Farthest distance inland reached: 106.7 miles
• Farthest inland point: Aroostook County, ME

40. Hurricane Kate (November 1985)

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• Farthest distance inland reached: 107.4 miles
• Farthest inland point: Ben Hill County, GA

39. Hurricane Florence (September 1953)

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• Farthest distance inland reached: 111.9 miles
• Farthest inland point: Tift County, GA

38. Hurricane Valerie (June 1962)

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• Farthest distance inland reached: 113.3 miles
• Farthest inland point: Starr County, TX

37. Hurricane Katrina (August 1971)

Hurricane Katrina One Year Later ( Shutterstock.com ) by Gary Paul Lewis

• Farthest distance inland reached: 113.3 miles
• Farthest inland point: Starr County, TX

36. Hurricane Sonia (November 2013)

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• Farthest distance inland reached: 114.1 miles
• Farthest inland point: Starr County, TX

35. Hurricane Elsa (July 2021)

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• Farthest distance inland reached: 114.5 miles
• Farthest inland point: Wake County, NC

34. Hurricane Waldo (October 1985)

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• Farthest distance inland reached: 114.5 miles
• Farthest inland point: Starr County, TX

33. Hurricane Norman (September 2012)

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• Farthest distance inland reached: 114.9 miles
• Farthest inland point: Starr County, TX

32. Hurricane Enrique (June 2021)

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• Farthest distance inland reached: 115.4 miles
• Farthest inland point: Starr County, TX

31. Hurricane Earl (September 1998)

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• Farthest distance inland reached: 118.6 miles
• Farthest inland point: Tift County, GA

30. Hurricane Hanna (September 2008)

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• Farthest distance inland reached: 119.7 miles
• Farthest inland point: Halifax County, NC

29. Hurricane Isabel (September 2003)

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• Farthest distance inland reached: 119.9 miles
• Farthest inland point: Allegheny County, PA

28. Hurricane Allison (June 1995)

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• Farthest distance inland reached: 120.8 miles
• Farthest inland point: Coffee County, GA

27. Hurricane Nestor (October 2019)

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• Farthest distance inland reached: 121.8 miles
• Farthest inland point: Turner County, GA

26. Hurricane Paine (October 1986)

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• Farthest distance inland reached: 123.1 miles
• Farthest inland point: Zapata County, TX

25. Hurricane Alma (May 1970)

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• Farthest distance inland reached: 123.6 miles
• Farthest inland point: Franklin County, NC

24. Hurricane Flossy (September 1956)

Source: Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons

• Farthest distance inland reached: 127.5 miles
• Farthest inland point: Turner County, GA

23. Hurricane Fausto (September 1996)

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• Farthest distance inland reached: 129.9 miles
• Farthest inland point: Zapata County, TX

22. Hurricane Doreen (October 1962)

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• Farthest distance inland reached: 130.2 miles
• Farthest inland point: Zapata County, TX

21. Hurricane Rosa (October 1994)

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• Farthest distance inland reached: 130.5 miles
• Farthest inland point: Zapata County, TX

20. Hurricane Norbert (October 2008)

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• Farthest distance inland reached: 130.6 miles
• Farthest inland point: Zapata County, TX

19. Hurricane Dora (September 1964)

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• Farthest distance inland reached: 131.0 miles
• Farthest inland point: Ben Hill County, GA

18. Hurricane Connie (August 1955)

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• Farthest distance inland reached: 136.2 miles
• Farthest inland point: Centre County, PA

17. Hurricane Diane (August 1955)

Source: Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons

• Farthest distance inland reached: 144.7 miles
• Farthest inland point: Halifax County, VA

16. Hurricane Sandy (October 2012)

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• Farthest distance inland reached: 146.6 miles
• Farthest inland point: Cambria County, PA

15. Hurricane Isaias (August 2020)

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• Farthest distance inland reached: 146.6 miles
• Farthest inland point: Lamoille County, VT

14. Hurricane Carol (September 1954)

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• Farthest distance inland reached: 168.1 miles
• Farthest inland point: Aroostook County, ME

13. Hurricane Michael (October 2018)

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• Farthest distance inland reached: 179.7 miles
• Farthest inland point: Houston County, GA

12. Hurricane Bob (July 1985)

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• Farthest distance inland reached: 187.4 miles
• Farthest inland point: Forsyth County, NC

11. Hurricane Irene (August 2011)

Hurricane Irene Nears Landfall. Irene, the first hurricane of the 2011 Atlantic season, was poised on August 26 to be the first to make landfal Elements of this image furnished by NASA. ( Shutterstock.com ) by BEST-BACKGROUNDS

• Farthest distance inland reached: 187.6 miles
• Farthest inland point: Aroostook County, ME

10. Hurricane Doria (August 1971)

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• Farthest distance inland reached: 190.6 miles
• Farthest inland point: Aroostook County, ME

9. Hurricane Able (August 1952)

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• Farthest distance inland reached: 193.2 miles
• Farthest inland point: Stokes County, NC

8. Hurricane David (September 1979)

Source: DAVE GATLEY / FEMA News Photo / Liaison Agency / Getty Images

• Farthest distance inland reached: 206.3 miles
• Farthest inland point: Rockingham County, NC

7. Hurricane Hugo (September 1989)

Source: Gary Williams / Hulton Archive via Getty Images

• Farthest distance inland reached: 279.6 miles
• Farthest inland point: Johnson County, TN

6. Hurricane Zeta (October 2020)

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• Farthest distance inland reached: 285.3 miles
• Farthest inland point: Murray County, GA

5. Hurricane Olga (October 2019)

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• Farthest distance inland reached: 321.6 miles
• Farthest inland point: Fayette County, TN

4. Hurricane Audrey (June 1957)

Source: Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons

• Farthest distance inland reached: 384.8 miles
• Farthest inland point: Williamson County, TN

3. Hurricane Frederic (September 1979)

Source: Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons

• Farthest distance inland reached: 386.6 miles
• Farthest inland point: Overton County, TN

2. Hurricane Ike (September 2008)

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• Farthest distance inland reached: 432.2 miles
• Farthest inland point: Newton County, AR

1. Hurricane Carla (September 1961)

Source: Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons

• Farthest distance inland reached: 486.6 miles
• Farthest inland point: Taney County, MO

The post The Hurricane That Made It Farthest Inland Surged Almost 500 Miles Beyond the Shore appeared first on 24/7 Tempo .